The invention relates generally to electrical connectors and assemblies, and more particularly to jack assemblies that are configured to reduce crosstalk between adjacent electrical connectors and/or assemblies.
Alien crosstalk is electromagnetic noise that can occur in a cable that runs alongside one or more other signal-carrying cables or in a connector that is positioned proximate to another connector. The term “alien” arises from the fact that this form of crosstalk occurs between different cables in a bundle or different connectors in a group, rather than between individual wires or circuits within a single cable or connector. Alien crosstalk affects the performance of a communications system by reducing the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). One possible solution is to separate the cables and/or connectors from each other by a predetermined distance so that the likelihood of alien crosstalk is minimized. This solution, however, reduces the density of cables and/or connectors that may be used per unit of area.
In one electrical connector that is adapted for reducing crosstalk between adjacent electrical connectors, the connector includes a jack that is configured to receive a plug (e.g., RJ-45) at a front end of the housing. Signal contacts extend through the jack and terminate at insulation displacement contacts (IDC's), which project outward from a contact sub-assembly. Individual conductor wires from a stripped cable are pressed into and held within the IDC by a connector cap that is placed over the contact sub-assembly. The connector cap includes one or more metallic shield enclosures positioned proximate to or around the contact sub-assembly and IDC's. The shield enclosure reduces the likelihood of crosstalk transmitted between adjacent electrical connectors. However, the use of a shield enclosure requires extra parts and/or material when manufacturing the connector and also requires additional manufacturing steps to make the connector. Furthermore, certain paints may not be applied to the metallic material of the shield enclosure, which may be desired in order to color-code and/or label the electrical connectors.
In other electrical connectors, the plug or jack may have a conductive bar where the material used to make the bar includes plastic mixed with conductive fiber rods. The insulated wires within the plug or jack pass over and/or through the bar, which is designed to reduce cross-talk within the plug or jack. However, the bar is an additional component that must be positioned within the plug or jack and thus may only be used where sufficient space exists for the bar. Furthermore, installing the bar requires additional steps in manufacturing the plug or jack.
Other connector designs for reducing alien crosstalk include molding the connector cap with a conductive plastic interior and a resistive outer skin or coating the connector cap with a conductive resin. However, these variations also require extra material and/or steps to manufacture the electrical connector. Thus, there is a need for electrical connectors that reduce the crosstalk between adjacent connectors and that do not require additional parts or processes to construct the electrical connector.